The CinemaScope short titled "THE MIRACLE OF STEREOPHONIC SOUND." (Technicolor)
This short demonstrated the then newly developed four track magnetic stereo process with race cars, trains zooming by, football crowds roaring, bands playing and Fox thunder storm sound effects in glorious four track surround. The real highlight of the production was the great Alfred Newman rehearsing the Twentieth Century Fox Studio Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Snow Maiden: Dance of the Tumblers. First he had the string section play, then woodwinds and horns, and finally low brass and percussion ending with a cymbal crash. The orchestra then played the entire piece together demonstrating that not only was this the best studio orchestra in the world but also how effective music sounded in four track magnetic stereo.
There are also product reels produced for theater exhibitors with Zanuck demonstrating CinemaScope 55 and the new and improved CinemaScope lenses with dailies from BROKEN LANCE and THE EGYPTIAN, both prime candidates for dvd.
Agree with Jon, Bigger Than Life, Pickup On South Street, Forty Guns, House Of Bamboo, Run Of The Arrow, City Girl, Unfaithfully Yours, and My Darling Clementine.
THE KING AND I DVD, while not anamorphic, is, I believe, off the master done for the 1996 Deluxe Laser Disc, which WAS mastered from the original CinemaScope 55 elements. (I recall reading somewhere Robert Harris being quoted that damage was done to the negative in the process of making the video master, preventing any 70MM prints from ever being made from it again, unfortunately.}
While I have never heard of the particuar Alfred Newman Stereophonic Sound Short Subject mentioned above, his "Street Scene" Concert Prologue to HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is one of the major delights of the early stereo era and I would be thrilled to see other such material from Mr. Newman and the Fox orchestra.
While not a classic in the "good taste" sense of the word, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING is a favorite of mine, not the least for Mr. Newmans' final score under his Fox contract and Johnnie Mathis crooning the over-ripe title song during the opening credits (filled with 'Scope stock shots lifted from the opening of HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE).
I want all of Fox's CinemaScope films from the 1950's.
King Of The Khyber Rifles Adventures Of Hajji Baba Black Widow Broken Lance Desiree The Egyptian Garden Of Evil Hell And High Water Night People Prince Valiant Three Coins In The Fountain Woman's World Daddy Long Legs Deep Blue Sea Girl In The Red Velvet Swing Good Morning Miss Dove House Of Bamboo How To Be Very Very Popular Left Hand Of God Magnificent Matador Man Called Peter Prince Of Players The Racers Rains Of Ranchipur will do for starters.
I though the Fox Studio Classics were all supposed to be Oscar winners (or Golden Globe winners in the case of Day the Earth Stood Still). Which rules out many of the titles mentioned here.
THE FOX FILMS I WOULD KILL FOR ON DVD The Egyptian Prince of Foxes - resotred picture and sound. This film is often run on AMC and Fox movies in a truly terrible master. Untamed- Susan Hayward, Tyrone Power. Garden of Evil - the Garden of Evil video masters have an odd history. When the letterbox master was done (shown on Fox Movies) Fox could not find the original stereo track and so rechanneled the sound from mono. Fox later found the true stereo track and added it to a new pan and scan master - also shown on Fox Movies. Fox needs to add this to their letterbox master. This year makes the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Cinemascope. Fox should do a special collection from the early years of scope and release all thos early features from 54 and 55 - Rains of Ranchipur, Broken Lance, Soldier of fortune, King of the Khyber Rifles, Man Called Peter, Prince of Players, etc.
I'm glad that Fox is doing Call Me Madma - a marvelous musical. Other Fox musicals I wouldlike State Fair - 1962 remake The Best Things in Life are Free April Love - all the Alice Fayes Betty Grable - Moon Over Miami, etc. Where Do We Go From Here
I can never keep straight what studio has the rights to what, but based on what others have posted here, I'd definitely buy the following:
Lifeboat My Darling Clementine (there's a rumor this is coming in April) I Was a Male War Bride Cheaper by the Dozen Belles on their Toes Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
FOX could also record Rita Moreno for "The King and I" She still appears at area screenings to discuss her films. (As does Marni Nixon)
And Mitz Gaynor, John Kerr and members of the tech crew are still around to do "South Pacific" which could be interesting.
I second "Those Maginifcent Men in Their Flying Machines" Fox had released a letterbox Special Edition on Laserdisc, though I never bought it. The film is in Todd-AO and FOX does excellent 1960's Todd-AO transfers "Cleopatra" "Hello Dolly" "Patton"
Hate to break it to ya, but Oklahoma and South Pacific weren't actually made by Fox. They just came into the video rights in the mid-1980s via Samuel Goldwyn Co. So why would Fox claim to have made them by putting them under this line? I like the idea of a 2-disc Oklahoma with both the Todd-AO and Cinemascope versions. And SP (which was only shot once, in 65mm), as we've discussed, needs to be restored to its original length. Ask Joe Caps.
King and I and Carousel may get remastered, they should be, but whether they'd be under the "studio classics" line is unknown to me, seeing how R&H musicals have their own de facto line. The King and I LD has loads of supplements not on the DVD.
Fox should start a "cult/camp" type collection, similar to MGM's Midnite Movies, for fare that doesn't really fall into the "classic" category.